A 9-year-old child also died… Of the 200 injured, 41 are in critical condition.
Suspect, Saudi doctor… “An Islamophobic crime”
The number of victims of a car attack at a Christmas market in Germany has increased to five. The suspect is a Saudi Arabian man with anti-Islamic far-right tendencies who has lived in Germany for nearly 20 years. The exact motive for the crime is unknown, but authorities believe the suspect committed the crime out of dissatisfaction with the German government’s inclusive refugee policy.
At around 7 p.m. on the 20th (local time), a BMW sports utility vehicle (SUV) crashed into a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt, eastern Germany, killing five people and injuring more than 200. Among the injured, 41 are in critical condition. It is reported that a 9-year-old child was among the dead. A video taken at the time of the incident showed a car driving at high speed through the crowd of people crowded in the aisle between the stalls.
The suspect was arrested near the scene of the incident. Police believe it was a solo crime and are investigating the details of the crime and motive. The Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt said the suspect was “a 50-year-old Saudi man who came to Germany in 2006 and works as a doctor in Bernburg, Saxony-Anhalt.” According to a statement from the American activist group ‘RAIR Foundation USA’ shared by Reuters, the suspect’s name is Taleb al-Abdulmosen.
According to CNN, Taleb showed anti-Islamic tendencies while working to help women persecuted by Saudi authorities seek asylum. On He also publicly supported the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). Magdeburg prosecutors said, “It appears that the suspect committed the crime because he was dissatisfied with the treatment of Saudi refugees.” German Interior Minister Nancy Feser said, “I can say with certainty that the perpetrator is an Islamophobe.”
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement immediately after the incident condemning the attack. The Saudi government is said to have warned German intelligence authorities several times about the extremist claims Taleb posted on X. Saudi Arabia also requested the extradition of Taleb in 2007 and 2008, but the German authorities refused, citing ‘concerns about his safety if he returns home’.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited the scene the day after the incident and promised a thorough investigation, saying, “The whole country is mourning together.” U.S. President Joe Biden also expressed his condolences in a statement, saying, “No community or family should have to experience such a despicable and dark event before Christmas.” Antonio Costa, President of the European Union (EU) Summit, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoff also expressed condolences.
Kim So-young, Donga.com reporter [email protected]
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